Shuttle for sewing-machines



A. McCOLLUM.

SHUTTLE FOR SEWING MACHINES.

APPLICATION HLED mm 28, 1918.

1,398,872. Patented NOV. 29, 1921.

ALFRED F. MCCOLLUBI, OF BLOOMSBURG, EENNSYLVANIA} ASSIGNOR OF THREE- "FIFTHS T0 JAMES MAGEE, 2D, 01' BLOOEHSBURG; FEHNSYLVANIA.

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To all whom it may 60mm: g Be it known that I, ALFRED F .MoCoLLui/r, a citizen of the United States, residing in Bloomsburg, Columbia county, .State of Pennsylvania, have invented Shuttles for Sewing-ldachines, of whichthe following is a specification. J One object of my invention is to provide means for so supportingand guiding the shuttle of a sewing machine as toprevent its displacement in the shuttle race by reason of wear of the guide and also of the shuttle driver, and "the consequent missing of stitches. h I

Another object of the invention is to provide novel means for compelling the shuttle to oscillate and at all times remain in, a circular path independently of and without regard to any supporting action possessed by the shuttle driver; the arrangement of parts for attaining this object being relatively simple and of such a nature as to be easily applied to new machines as Well as those already in use.

These objects and other advanta eous ends I secure as hereinafter set forth, reference being had to the accompanying drawings in which,

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a shuttle and certain of its associated parts, to which my invention has been applied;

Fig. 2 is an elevation of that side of the shuttle race and shuttle opposite that of Fig. 1;

l ig. 3 is a vertical section on the line 3-3, Fig. 2;

Fig. 4: is a fragmentary cross section on the line 4-4, F ig. 2; i

Fig. 5 is a front elevation of one side of a shuttle constructed according to my invention; and I Fig. 6 is an elevation of the shuttle-retaining ring intended to cooperate with the shuttle shown in Fig. 5.

In the above drawings, 1 represents the top of a sewing machine having an opening in which is mounted a removable needle plate 2 having a slot elongated from front to rear for the passage of the needle 3. Mounted transversely in this slot below the plane of the plate 2 is a roller 4 designed to support the lower end of the needle against bending under the action of the fabric or other material operated on and also to guide and sup- Specification of Letters Yatent. Patented Nov. 29, 1?}21. Application filed illness, 1918., Serial No. 242,475.

port the thread between the bobbin and said material.

Above the thread plate 2 are mounted the feed foot 5 and the presser foot 6 both of which coact in the ordinary manner with the needle plate 2 to alternately hold and longitudinally feed the material to be sewed. Beneath the top 1 is mounted the shuttle race '2' held to the frame of the machine by screws 8 and provided with the customary circularl guideway for the shuttle 9., This latter is designed to oscillate in said guideway under the action of the oscillating driver 10 whose extremities normally engage the correspond in extremities of the shuttle.

or removably retaining the shuttle in its guideway provided by the shuttle race, a ringll (Fig. 6) is ordinarily employed and it is made with two holes 12 in its opposite sides for the reception of a pair of pins 18 projecting from the adjacent face of the shuttle race. While these pins ordinarily have been made to closely fit said holes, according to my invention the latter are from fifty to one hundred per cent. larger in diameter than the pins so as to allow of a slight adjustment of the ring 11 relatively to the shuttle race. The ring is yieldingly held in position by a forked spring 14 of flat material whose two arms engage it immediately adjacent the openings 12 and which is removably held to the race by a screw 15.

One feature of my invention resides in forming that face of the shuttle under the ring 11 with a circular groove of angular cross section formed by extending its con centrically curved edge substantially at right angles to its plane and in providing the ring with a rib 17 of angular cross section designed to closely fit into this groove, so thatthe shuttle, instead of depending upon the driver to hold it in position in its guideway, is at all times compelled to move and is retained in a circular path by the ring 11. While the driver as originally constructed accomplishes this same object with reasonable certainty before wear occurs, I have found that under operating conditions the wear of the guideway of the shuttle race as well the wear between the driverand the shuttle causes such an amount of lost motion as permits said shuttle to move out of its circular'path so that as a consequence the machine will sooner or later begin to miss stitches.

By my invention however, the rib on the ring 11 atall times maintains the shuttle in the required position in the shuttle race and even though there should be considertion the shutt1e,the play'between the walls of the openings 12 and the pins 13 permitting of the necessary relativemovement of the ring. 7

From the above description it will be seen that I am enabled to effectually prevent the missing of stitches by the machine after the parts have been subjected to a certain amount of wear and have provided means whereby, even if abnormal wear has occurred, it is possible to so adjust the shuttle-holding ring as to still cause the shuttle to operate in a circular path ;it being obviously immaterial as'to which of the two members comprised by the shuttle and the shuttleretaining ring is provided with the rib 17. It will be noted from Fig. 4 that one wallof the groove in the shuttle is inclined so as to be continuous with or form part of the inclined surface of' the shuttle body so that under conditions of use the thread will not lay or be held in said groove but moves freely around the shuttle without danger or catching or cutting.

Since with the loose connection provided by'the pins 13 and the larger openings 12 in the ring 11, the shuttle is free to autonarily bethe case.

'I claimf The combination of a shuttle race having a' guideway; a shuttle operative in the guldeway and having a relatively thin edge portion extended substantially at right angles to'form a circularly curved groove adjacent: its periphery, one wall of the groove being inclined and substantially continuous with the correspondingly inclined surface of the shuttle body; with an annular retaining member having a guiding ribof angular cross section slidably fitting said groove of the shuttle.

In witness whereof I aflix my signature.

ALFRED F. MoCOLLUM. 

